USA
Doritex Corp., Alden, New York, will pay an estimated US$1 million over the next 30 years to clean up a contaminated former drycleaning site in Cheektowaga, New York. In August, Doritex paid the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) $491,000 to cover all of the costs associated with the cleanup to date, according to news reports.
The former Doro’s Dry Cleaners site was found to be contaminated by unsafe levels of common drycleaning chemicals including tetrachloroethylene, or perc. In 2010, the NYSDEC listed the site as hazardous and determined that it presented “a significant threat to public health or the environment.” It was listed as a state Superfund site, according to the report. An investigation found that the contaminants extended into soil, groundwater and indoor air at the site and that the chemical concentration on the site’s soil below the water table was 2,000 times higher than what is considered safe for groundwater.
Doritex officials said its payments are voluntary and added that the company began negotiations with DEC to clean-up the site even though it never owned the Doro’s Dry Cleaners property.
“Standards were far different in the 1950s when my dad was involved with the business, and I just felt it was a family legacy and responsibility to take care of this unfortunate situation,” said James J. Doro, president of Doritex. “DEC is doing its job, and we’re stepping up to do what’s right.”
Doritex began in 1972 by Doro’s Dry Cleaners’ founder (and Jim Doro’s father) Alfred Doro, and his sons, as an offshoot of the drycleaning business. The drycleaning company eventually closed after Alfred Doro passed away in 1998.
